Cavalry Crossing A Ford - Walt Whitman  
  
A LINE in long array,  
where they wind betwixt green islands;  
They take a serpentine course?their arms flash in the sun?  
Hark to the musical clank;  
Behold the silvery river?in it the splashing  
horses, loitering, stop to drink;  
Behold the brown-faced men? each group, each person,  
a picture?the negligent rest on the saddles;  
Some emerge on the opposite bank?others are  
just entering the ford?while,  
Scarlet, and blue, and snowy white,  
The guidon flags flutter gaily in the wind.  
  
Walt Whitman (1819-1892)